IMPACT OF POLYMER ON FLOW BEHAVIOUR, PHASE INTERFERENCE, AND DISPLACEMENT OF OIL IN A HELE-SHAW CELL

Salim Raza, S. Hossein Hejazi, Ian D. Gates, Saira Sherin

Abstract

It is an established fact that polymer additives to water for oil displacement in porous media improves oil displacement by regulating mobility ratio of the phases. This has rarely been examined for oil displacement in fractures through relative permeabilities, flow behaviour and microscopic observations. The research documented here shows experimental evaluation of oil displacement using polymer additives to water in a Hele-Shaw cell. A series of experiments are conducted to examine how aqueous polymer (polyethylene oxide) solution changes the behaviour of the fluids and oil displacement in a narrow gap. Unlike the case of co-current oil and water flow where after the breakthrough, complex fluid distribution patterns with engulfed stationary oil drops resulted, we report that in the case of polymer, the aqueous solution dominant finger expands and occupies a major portion of the cell. Thus, a high oil recovery is resulted, which is also proved by the relative permeabilities and microscopic investigation.

Keywords:

:polymer additives; Hele-Shaw cell; flow regimes, interfaces; microemulsion; relative permeability.


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References


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